Check out our recap of Agents of SHIELD! This episode is very Agent May focused, and we learn why she has the nickname The Cavalry! Following the recap, both Josh and Violet share their thoughts about the episode.
Don’t need the Agents of SHIELD episode recap for Melinda? Click here to jump directly to Violet’s thoughts on the episode!
To see Josh’s thoughts on this week’s Agents of SHIELD episode, Melinda, click here to get directly there!
Episode Recap of Agents of SHIELD, Season 2 Episode 17: Melinda
This week’s episode of Agents of SHIELD is really focused on Skye and May, and their storylines for the most part. Let’s dissect this week’s episode.
Agent May and Bobbi
So Agent May is still dead set on defending Coulson’s motives so far, while Agent Bobbi tries to break him down. Bobbi reveals a protocol that Coulson has been keeping a secret, even from her — “Theta Protocol.” This seems to be his plans to get people with abilities to work for him, according to Bobbi. Agent May decides to the best course of action is to be given control of Coulson’s previous headquarters, to help locate Coulson. Not sure if this is some ploy, but May seems to be siding more and more with Bobbi and company. She even goes as far as asking Simmons to get working on opening the toolbox.
Meanwhile, Agent Bobbi informs May that they have some men tailing Fitz, just to keep an eye on him. Turns out it is probably a good idea, as he does have Fury’s toolbox. Hiding in a public restroom, Fitz manages to get it open, and contacts Coulson and Hunter, asking for help for extraction, since he is currently trapped in a bathroom with other-SHIELD agents outside.
Agent May: The Cavalry
The big storyline this episode for Agent May actually takes place in the past, and we learn the exact details that earned Agent May the nickname Cavalry. This flashback opens with Coulson and May tracking down a person with “abilities.” Her name is Eva Belyakov, who possesses superior strength. Coulson is hoping to convince her to come back to SHIELD for analysis. They approach Belyakov on the streets of Bahrain, but the woman doesn’t seem to be interested, and flees into a building. Also, some local Bahrain criminals nab a hostage, a SHIELD agent.
Coulson decides that it is time to send some men in to retrieve Belyakov and save their agent, as others have taken an interest in this woman, and time is short. They get the extraction team together, and send the team in. Unfortunately, contact is lost almost immediately, and that puts Coulson in a bind — there is no one else to send in except for Agent May. May tells Coulson she should go in, and Coulson initially is hesitant, but the situation is getting more out of hand, so he tells her to go in.
So, inside the building, and taking on a few guards, May finds a little girl captive, and Eva, along with dozens of unconscious SHIELD agents. Quickly, May finds out things aren’t as they seem. This little girl is not a captive, but a woman with the ability to take control of people’s minds, and is the daughter of Eva. May is forced to fight more men and Eva. After a severe beating, May is able to take them all out. The girl advances towards May, threatening to use her touch on her. May scoots away on the floor, trying to find another solution, but the only one comes when she bumps into a revolver on the ground. She uses this gun to shoot the girl.
Coulson comes in, and the SHIELD agents wake up, and begin calling May the Cavalry. May isn’t happy with the nickname, and we see this is when she requested a desk job — where we find her in the series premiere. It’s no wonder she decided to take a desk job. Must be rough shooting a kid, no matter how deranged that kid is.
Skye and Mom Reunion
Skye is still struggling with her newfound abilities, and Jiaying tries to convince Skye her power doesn’t have to be destructive. Jiaying helps Skye to move a mountain, and even does some training making music with glasses filled with water. She does eventually shatter the glasses, but Skye seems to feel more confident.
Raina, meanwhile, is dealing with her issues, and wants to leave. She and Lincoln seem to be connecting though. Raina tells Lincoln about a recurring nightmare of Skye’s father, mother, and Skye having dinner together, and Skye looks happy.
Skye, still worried about finding a “home,” begins to talk to Jiaying about growing up in foster care, and never living anywhere for too long, and how SHIELD was thought to finally be her home. Jiaying then drops the bomb on Skye—that she is her mother. Jiaying warns Skye to keep this secret though, as previous cases of apparent favoritism caused strife within their society.
Then, Jiaying asks Skye to have dinner with her father. Jiaying acknowledges what he has done is quite horrible, but she tries to explain it was all done to find her. Skye reluctantly agrees, and he is more than excited to see his daughter again. He even seems like a loving dad. That guy is really messed up it seems. But, Lincoln happens to walk by this room the three are having dinner, and says, “She’s not dreaming!” Referring to Raina. Does this mean Raina has some sort of psychic/foresight gift?
Josh’s Thoughts: Agents of SHIELD, Season 2 Episode 17: Melinda
So, this episode wasn’t that exciting to me. It was nice to take the focus away from Coulson some, and give Agent May some screen time, but I did not really need to see the flashback showing how she became known as the Cavalry. We knew the gist of it, and I thought that was enough. I would rather have had the story continue forward, as we are in a pretty exciting storyline at the moment. I was much more interested seeing Agent May make her own decisions, to see how she would play the hand she has been dealt between Agent Coulson and Gonzales/Bobbi.
May looks like she might be having a change of heart about being a staunch defender of Coulson. I am hoping whatever Coulson is “hiding” is not as big of a deal as Agent Bobbi is trying to make it. I like Agent Coulson, and to see him being a little underhanded would even make me lose a little faith in our protagonist. I guess we will have to see what exactly Theta Protocol is to make our decision.
I am really excited to see where Fitz goes from where he is. I am really enjoying the journey he is on, leaving SHIELD, and now trying to avoid capture/being followed. On top of that, I am really curious how Hunter thinks a hand dryer in a restaurant is enough to get out of trouble. Hopefully we actually get to see that happen!
Skye having her family reunion is nice, with her mother anyway. Her dad seems to be a very loving father when he isn’t butchering people or throwing tantrums. But still, he has done some heinous things, and I hope Skye remembers that.
I am curious about Lincoln though. He seems to be up to more than just being a friend to both Skye and Raina. I could be imagining it though. I am sure that Lincoln with be trying to help Raina develop her powers though, since it sounds like she might have some clairvoyance type of abilities.
So, while I was not extremely thrilled with this episode, it certainly has some interesting storylines going. We have Fitz on the run, Skye figuring out her family, May on the fence on who to trust, Simmons now stuck with a fake cube to open. It all is very exciting. I really hope we have an entertaining lead up to Avengers: Age of Ultron as well, as the previews seem to be hinting at that.
Violet’s Thoughts on Season 2 Episode 17 of Agents of SHIELD: Melinda
So, when I realized that this episode was going to be about Agent May’s story of how she became known as the Cavalry, I was a little skeptical. Hadn’t we already heard that story? Why did we need to see it all play out now? But it seems that there was more to the story than we thought, and that it has become a little embellished over the years. However, it was also a device to tie in with Skye and Jiaying’s storyline at this point, to emphasize Jiaying’s warning to Skye not to reveal that they are mother and daughter, because the people in the Afterlife community would be reminded of this incident involving Eva and her daughter. In any case, it was pretty awesome to see May kick butt. And apparently, she’s Spider-Woman, the way she jumped up onto that balcony!
The most interesting part of the episode was the very end, when Lincoln discovers what Raina’s power is, as he walks in on the dinner scene that Raina had described seeing in her dream. Will Lincoln tell anyone about Raina’s power, or keep it to himself? Not that there’s any reason I see that he would keep it a secret, but just speculating that it could be a possibility. It will be curious to see her develop her power, and to see how her power is used: for good or for evil.
Lastly, it was really cool that Fitz was able to break into Fury’s toolbox! And it looks like he’ll be joining back up with Coulson and Hunter soon. That could be fun.
Scenes from Agents of SHIELD, Season 2 Episode 18, Frenemy of My Enemy
Here are scenes from next week’s Agents of SHIELD episode titled Frenemy of My Enemy:
